Conventionally, there is proposed a light-emitting-panel-type illumination device arranged on a ceiling (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-250302). As shown in FIG. 12, the light-emitting-panel-type illumination device includes a flat light emitting panel 61 for radiating light downward from the front surface 61a thereof, a housing 63 for accommodating the light emitting panel 61 by covering the rear surface 61b of the light emitting panel 61 and a holder member 62 arranged within the housing 63 to hold the light emitting panel 61.
The light emitting panel 61 includes a substrate (not shown), an organic EL layer (not shown) having a first electrode layer, an organic light emitting layer and a second electrode layer formed one above another on the substrate, a first seal member (not shown) and a second seal member (not shown). The first seal member and the second seal member serve to hermetically seal the substrate and the organic light emitting layer. The lower surface of the substrate makes up the front surface 61a of the light emitting panel 61.
The housing 63, which is attached to the ceiling 70, includes a hollow portion 64 opened downward and a flange portion 65 extending outward from the peripheral edge of the opening of the hollow portion 64. In the bottom wall of the hollow portion 64, there are provided a pivotal supporting portion 66 for swingably supporting the holder member 62 and an engaged portion 67 for detachably fixing the holder member 62 within the hollow portion 64.
The holder member 62 includes a pivotal supported portion 68 rotatably supported by the pivotal supporting portion 66 of the housing 63. The holder member 62 further includes an engaging portion 69 removably engaging with the engaged portion 67 of the housing 63. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-250302 also mentions about the fact that the holder member 62 is hooked by a jig (not shown) and is forcibly pulled downward in order to release the engagement between the coupling portion 69 and the coupled portion 67.
In the light-emitting-panel-type illumination device shown in FIG. 12, however, the jig for releasing the engagement between the coupling portion 69 of the holder member 62 and the coupled portion 67 of the housing 63 is required in order to replace the light emitting panel 61. In the light-emitting-panel-type illumination device, the holder member 62 needs to be hooked by the jig and forcibly pulled downward in order to release the engagement between the coupling portion 69 and the coupled portion 67. This makes it difficult to replace the light emitting panel 61.